March 15, 2013
Students’ talent will shine during ‘Stars of Altgeld’
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Some of the newest talent in Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s School of Music will take the stage next week with the Stars of Altgeld performance at Shryock Auditorium.
The annual program features the winners of the School of Music’s Solo and Composition contests, and the Southern Illinois Symphony Orchestra (SISO). The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. on March 21.
The solo competition winners are graduate students Edward Charity and Petra Bubanja, violins, and Ben Elwood, trumpet. Charity and Bubanja both earned their bachelor’s degrees at Northwestern State University in Louisiana. Elwood, an undergraduate student, is studying physics and mathematics as well as music.
Ken Carr, a retired SIU Carbondale employee and non-traditional student from Murphysboro, is the composition competition winner. Requiring a Civil War theme, Carr’s winning piece, “The Civil War Touches Southern Illinois: A Portrait of General John A. Logan,” will make its debut. Harvey Welch will narrate the work, and Joseph Ryker, the assistant conductor for the Southern Illinois Symphony Orchestra, will conduct.
Other highlights of the program include a Mozart aria from “Abduction from the Seraglio” performed by Jeannine Wagner, director of the School of Music and a professor of voice. The second half of the program is the Second Symphony of Finnish composer Jean Sibelius.
The SISO and soloists will present a Klassics for Kids version of the performance for school-aged children at 10 a.m., March 21, in Shryock Auditorium.
Tickets for the evening performance are $20 for general admission, $8 for students. Purchase tickets in advance through SouthernTicketsOnline.com or by calling 618/453-6000. Tickets are also available at the Shryock Auditorium Box Office during office hours and beginning one hour before the performance begins.